The practice of proof writing is too often restricted to rigid two-column format and limited to the one-year experience know as upper school geometry. In this session I will make a case for teachng proof writing, the composing and presenting of convincing mathematical arguments, in a variety of formats across the mathematics curriculum. Then I will present the following series of proofs/mathematical arguments accessible to middle and upper school students: deriving the formula for the area of a circle; proving the infinitude of primes; two proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem; proving the irrationality of the square root of two; visualizing the derivation of the quadratic formula; and proving the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus.
Andrew Elizalde
Andrew Elizalde earned a B.A. degree at Depauw University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude, earned a mathematics major, physics minor, and religious studies minor, and received the H.E.H. Greenleaf Award as the most outstanding graduate of the school’s mathematics program. At California State University Long Beach, he obtained a teaching credential with a professional-clear qualification for his coursework regarding exceptional children and technology integration. His teaching experience includes work in both public and private schools as well as private tutoring in subjects ranging from elementary mathematics to advanced calculus and physics. Andrew currently serves as Dean of Academics, at Covenant Classical School in Fort Worth, Texas. His recent work most notably includes a comprehensive reform of the Veritas School (Richmond, VA) mathematics program as well as a restructuring of faculty professional development. Andrew also regularly offers consulting services to schools striving to teach mathematics with a a distinctly classical and Christian framework and pedagogy. Andrew and his wife, Brooke, have three daughters.